


Keep us safe

by Honorarysnowbunny



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 06:23:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5195477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honorarysnowbunny/pseuds/Honorarysnowbunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone in the prison reacts differently to the pretty but reserved new member of the group. Strangely, it affects Daryl most of all...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic, so please be kind :) I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: As much as I wish I did, I do not own the walking dead, its plot, or any of its characters, I'm just writing this for fun.

"What the...? Rick!" Never lowering his trademark crossbow, Daryl Dixon glanced over his shoulder at the sheriff jogging his way before turning back to the pair tucked away in the tiny shed in front of him. Coming to a stop beside Daryl, Rick peered into the dark, dusty room at the two terrified faces in front of him. Sighing, he looked around at his group before he and Tyreese reached in and pulled the two survivors out, Ty being more gentle with the girl than Rick was with the man. 

Keeping his crossbow trained in between the eyes of the man, perceiving him as the larger threat, Daryl stood between the two. "what's yer name?" he grunted out. The man only strengthened his stony expression and struggled to get out of Rick's grip. Growling, Daryl lunged at him, kicking his legs out from under him and sending him falling heavily to the dusty ground. In an instant, the girl had slipped Ty's grip, grabbed the concealed hunting knife from her black, worn out boot, and held it to Daryl's throat in one practiced movement. A man in the back of the group with black, buzz cut hair (she later learned was named Shane) chuckled at her. "Listen here little lady, you oughta be careful with that. Yer not in the kitchen now." Glaring at him, she finally spoke: "I can kill you within seconds, and will because I have nothing to lose and nothing that you want. Leave us alone and move on."

Tyreese laid his hand on the girls shoulder again, gently guiding her unwillingly away from Daryl. Shane sneered and gave her an obvious once-over. "I dunno about the rest 'a them, but you definitely got something I want." Smirking, he advanced toward her with an ugly gleam in his eye. "Shane, no! That ain't us brother, just leave the girl alone." Rick had a warning tone to his voice that gave Shane pause in his motion, trying to calm everyone down before things got too out of hand, especially since the strangers looked like they'd like nothing more than to gut him on the spot, and even a few members of his own group were starting to look like they were debating whether or not he was worth the noise and the bullet. Shane glanced around before raising his hands in surrender and backing off, muttering under his breath.

Turning back to the rest of the group, Rick took his first good look at the pair under restraint. After taking a deep breath, he glanced around at the others before asking his three questions to determine whether they should be allowed into the band of survivors, much to the incredulity of the others. After both of them had given their answers to Rick's approval, Glenn pulled Rick aside. "What are you doing? We don't know these people! We can't just bring them in with us. What if something happens to Maggie? Or Carl or Judith? Do you really want to risk their safety?" He looked Rick in the eye and attempted to arrange his expression to be suitably pleading. However Rick looked over at the pair in question, and looking at their resigned expressions, the way they looked like they hadn't eaten in a week, and the defeat in their eyes made up his mind for him. "This world is brutal enough without our input. They're coming with us." Glenn frowned but nodded, accepting Rick's decision before turning on his heel and walking away to inform the others of the result of their discussion. Carefully arranging the smile he used to use on victims of crimes in his police days onto his face, he too turned to the new (somewhat involuntary) initiates of the group. 

"Ready to go to prison?" 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The group started off toward their base, trudging through the woods and tall grass, unconsciously keeping the newcomers in the middle. In an effort to smooth over the previous incident, Ty leaned over to the girl, who was carefully avoiding catching anyone's eye except her equally stony companion. "You know, I never did catch your name, miss...?" Jumping slightly at being addressed so suddenly, she narrowed her eyes and observed him for a moment before schooling her expression to be completely neutral. She chose her words carefully, giving nothing away. "Do names matter anymore in this world?" Raising an eyebrow at her, it was a moment before he answered. "We all need something to remind us of who we are, be it a name, an object, or even a person. We need it to remind us that we're lucky, that we're still human." She snorted. "That's some deep thinking for such a simple question." Ty remained silent, looking at her expectantly. The only sound she made for a moment or two was the sound of her footsteps crunching the dead grass and twigs under her feet. Finally, she sighed in resignation. "Katia." She nodded at the young man she was with. "And Will." Ty smiled at the information. "Well miss Katia, welcome to our rag-tag band!"

While they were slowly adjusting to each other, Daryl was lagging behind everyone else, talking to Rick and becoming more and more agitated with each step he took. "You know we barely keep up with the needs of our people as it is! they're gonna have to hunt for theirselves because I ain't picking up their slack on top 'a what I already gotta do around here!!" "What do you expect me to do about it Daryl? Leave them-two people against a whole world of the dead and now even the living- to die? I can't condemn them to that life when we have the safety and space they so desperately need. It takes people to survive and the bigger we get, the better chance we have to survive!" Rick was beginning to get fed up with this. "They know what's expected of them and they'll pull their weight just like the rest of us." "And if they don't?" The challenge was clear in Daryl's voice. "What'll you do then, Rick? Kick them out?" Rick's step faltered a bit. "We'll address that problem if it comes up, as a group." And with that, Rick strode ahead, leaving Daryl to brood behind him as he caught up with Will, clapping him on the shoulder and drawing a startled glare from him before relaxing a bit while Rick engaged him in conversation. 

Giving a halfhearted glare at Rick's back, Daryl sighed and began scanning the area for something to shoot. Tyreese slowed his pace so that he dropped back to walk alongside Daryl. "Nice girl there. Kinda tense, kinda quiet, but nice," he tried. "Yeah, real sweetheart if you get past the way she was holding that knife 'a hers at my neck that is." Daryl grumbled. A sulking Shane behind them suddenly made his thoughts known: "I don't see what ya'll are complainin' about boy, I tell ya, it took all I had not to pin that girl against a tree. Whew, the way she moved when she was pulling that stunt!" He whistled lowly. "I don't care about what you think about that girl or any other, ya perverted dick. I seen the way ya act around our women, we know what ya did to Lori at the CDC..." his words were cut off, owing to his need to block a clumsy punch from Shane. ''Ya don't know nothing ya dirty redneck, you're just pissed that you're not man enough to take what you want, that no one wants ya! I saw ya eyeing that hot piece up there, but yer too much of a wuss to do what needs doin'! I'll show ya how to be a real man, and I'll show her while I'm at it too!" He broke off his rant with a horrible leer at Katia, who had picked up on the topic of discussion and was now glaring at them with a mixture of fear and revulsion. 

Shane strode over to her before she had a chance to react and roughly snatched up her arm and pulled her to him. But before he had a chance to do anything further, Rick unholstered his gun and hit him on the back of his head with the butt of it, knocking him to the ground while Katia scurried away from him. "Try that again, and you'll get the other side of this gun," he warned, disgust evident in his face and body language. Rising to his feet and rubbing the back of his head, Shane stormed off ahead of the group toward the prison, cursing Rick, Katia, and "that good fer nothin redneck". With the group slowly coming out of their shock at his behavior, they resumed their travel to the prison, now coming into view through the quickly thinning trees. Rick turned to Katia, an apologetic expression on his face. He mock bowed and flourished his hand at the structure.   
"Welcome to the little place we call home!"


	2. Chapter 2

    To the group who called the prison home, it was simple to navigate. to the newcomers however, it was much more confusing, all explanations of the layout lost on them, and they got pathetically turned around before they finally reached the heart of the prison: the living quarters.

    Anxiously, Katia cast her eyes about the room, taking a quick head count. Rather reluctantly, she allowed herself to be introduced to each person she hadn't already met. She made a mental note to keep an eye on Andrea, something about the rather self centered blonde woman set her on edge.

    "Merle? Hey Merle, git yer lazy self out here, where you hiding at?" Daryl broke off from the crowd to peer into the badly lit cells and cursing under his breath till he realized the search was futile. Spinning toward the group and overbalanced slightly. "Anyone seen Merle?" he grunted, searching the faces of the inhabitants. When he received no answer, he scoffed and attempted to look through the barred windows.

    Hesitantly, Herschel stepped forward, laying a hand on Daryl's shoulder. "Son, Merle hasn't been seen since all y'all left yesterday mornin'. told us he was goin' hunting. I wouldn't worry about him too much, he's probably holed up somewhere tracking some animal." Daryl shook off Herschel's hand. "He's my brother, it's my job to worry about him. And I ain't your 'son'." And with that, he stormed off to the the area at the top of the stairs dubbed "the perch".

    Raising an eyebrow in his direction, she caught the eye of the brunette, Maggie? who had been in the middle of greeting her, and jerked her head in Daryl's direction. Maggie shrugged. "They're pretty close." Maggie answered Katia's unspoken question. When Katia continued to stare after Daryl with a perplexed expression, she sighed. "They're all each other has, always have been."

    Making a slightly distracted noncommittal noise, Katia turned to Will and pulled him to Rick's side. Tired of introductions, she inquired of Rick where they would be staying, wanting to freshen up and finally rest. He pointed the two to an empty cell upstairs and turned back to his conversation with what they assumed was his son. "Well all right then..."

    Will trudged to their new accommodations, Katia in tow. Groaning in exhaustion from the extra rough day they'd had, coupled with the stress and terror of living in a world of the dead without much protection, both of them sank into their beds (after Will claimed the top bunk) straight into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

    Strangely, right before she surrendered her consciousness, Katia's last thoughts lingered on Daryl...

    ----------------------------------

    Abandoning all hope of getting any more sleep, Katia had spent hours of staring at the ceiling of her cell, counting the cracks and listening to Will's soft breathing, finally giving in and padding quietly out, the cement floor cold on her bare feet as she wandered down the corridor and down the stairs.

    She paused momentarily as she passed Daryl's sleeping area at the top of the stairs, afraid to wake him. She felt slightly bad for sticking her knife at his throat, deserved or not, and made up her mind to try to get along with all the people here, with a couple exceptions of course.

    As she passed the ground level cells, she noted that some of them were already empty in addition to her own and idly wondered if they always rose so early or if her sudden presence in the prison disturbed their sleep. 

    Maggie was one of those who were already awake, huddled over a makeshift firepit, heating a couple cans of baked beans which Katia assumed would be breakfast. As Maggie had been one of the friendlier members of the group to accept her, Katia hesitantly stepped up to her side, smiling unsurely at her, to which Maggie responded by beaming up at her.

    Deciding she may as well have one friend here at the prison, she plonked down onto the freezing groud next to the firepit, wincing at the chill seeping through her clothes and raised her hands to hover above the fire to warm them. _It definitely doesnt help that these shorts certainly live up to their name..._ Katia thought to herself, looking down at the fairly small article of clothing that Maggie had given her the day before to wear after a kind offer from Beth to wash her regular clothing.

    Wishing hopelessly that she was a bit more covered to keep out the chill, or at least that her bare legs weren't pressed up against the cold cement, she shivered and looked up at Maggie who decided to begin a conversation.

    "You know, its about time we got a girl more my age around here, It's just not the same being with Beth or Carol or Sasha. By the way, those shorts look much better on you than me, you might as well keep them!"

    When Katia opened her mouth to protest, Maggie merely shushed her. "Nope, you need a change of clothes anyway.'' Katia smiled a little more willingly at her, thanking her for such a nice gift. Turning back to the food, Katia inhaled deeply and unconsciously licked her lips at the prospect of her first real meal in weeks.

    "That smells so good, Maggie!'' She remarked with enthusiasm. Maggie glanced up at her from her position in front of the food, pausing her stirring. "Not much I can do with food already cooked and stuffed in a can, but hopefully I'm able to make it edible for everyone." And with that, she removed the cans from the firepit with a bit of torn up cloth and, one by one, dumped the contents unceremoniously into a large bowl at her side.

   "Would you mind ringing that bell up at the end of the balcony up there? I'd hate for anyone to have a cold breakfast on a chill mornin' like this!" She pointed at a medium-sized bell hanging close to the perch. Katia nodded, wanting to help somehow, and dragged her still-drowsy body up from the floor and made toward the stairs.

    She had only ascended a few steps before she froze at the voices floating down to her from the top. She quieted her steps until completely silent, wishing to avoid the notice of whoever was at the top when she heard a girlish giggle that sounded completely out of place in their surroundings. "Sorry pookie."

    Surprised, she recognized one of the voices as one of the women she had met earlier, Carol? As she reached this realization, the owners of the voices came into view, and she was surprised to see that Carol's companion was none other than Daryl. She distinctly remembered his name owing to the...altercation earlier yesterday.

    The pair was perched on a mattress dragged from one of the cells, a faded sleeping bag laid out over the surface. Katia was unnoticed by both of them, as Daryl was preoccupied with sorting through his supplies all laid out neatly on the floor in front of him, and Carol was laughing at whatever response Daryl had just given her.  _So Daryl isn't quite so uptight after all..._

    Blushing slightly at the unbidden thought, she attempted to tiptoe past them as quietly as she could, but apparently Daryl's hunter's senses were superior. His head shot up at the sound of her feet touching the ground and his eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of her. Following his line of sight, Carol met Katia's eye and her cheeks reddened much more than Katia's had.

    Turning her head back toward the bell, she determinedly avoided the gaze of the pair in the alcove, although her traitorous mind kept straying back to the sight of Carol with the redneck in the sleeveless shirts, _showing off nicely muscled arms that looked so strong... wait what? Where did that come from?_

    Shaking her head to clear her mind of any other unwanted thoughts, she gripped the small rope attached to the bell and pulled until the ringing roused the drowsy group. She waited to join them until she saw Daryl and Carol descend the stairs, not wanting a repeat of the awkward situation that had just occurred.

    Resolving to stay silent about it, she waked back to join the group and began her long awaited meal, steadfastly ignoring glares from both Shane and Daryl, and the blushes and questioning looks from Carol. Brushing off his clothes, Daryl stood from his solitary place at a metal table, grabbed his crossbow from its position at his side, and marched out of the cell block, muttering something or other about keeping an eye on the walkers at the fence.

    Casting an eye at his retreating figure, she turned back to her meal. She had never been one to eat beans, but given that she couldn't be choosy about her meals nowadays, she dutifully spooned the food into her mouth, examining the various people surrounding her more carefully. Glenn and Maggie were together, that much she knew, and apparently Daryl and Carol too, although she guessed it wasn't public knowledge judging by the way carol didn't flirt as shamelessly as she had in private.

    By now she had picked up that the subject of Lori, Rick's wife was taboo in this prison. Although, she mused, with the way Rick speaks to Michonne and the way Carl adores her, Rick might not be alone much longer. Shane...well there was no lack in beauty at the prison, and yet he felt the need to jump the first strange woman he met. Clearly none of the others would have him. _And rightly so, she though, the way he ogles girls like a hunter after a prize deer._

    Speaking of hunters, that Daryl is really quite...no stop it, he's spoken for, and besides, its not like he'd even be interested. I doubt I'm his type...and yet...

    "Kat."Will pulled her out of her runaway train of though, startling her and making her blush when she realized what she was thinking about. "Hmmm?" "Can I talk to you?" he asked her. She nodded, shoving the last of her beans, cold from being forgotten in the wake of her daydreaming, into her mouth before wincing, getting up, and following him to their shared cell. Making sure no one else was around, he turned to her.

    "Look, I know we didn't want to come here, and it wasn't much of a choice, but the people are good-other than that douchetrain who tried to get you earlier, Shane? Anyway, the building is safe. We're safe. I think we should stay." Katia looked thoughtful for a moment, considering his words before answering. "it certainly seems that way. Looks can deceive though. We should give it a trial run, say a week. See if we fit in. Although you seem to be starting to fit in already." She observed with a small smile.

    And it was true, already she had seen him socializing with a bunch of group members especially the pretty young blonde girl who offered to wash her clothes. She smiled wider at that thought.Will blushed slightly, reading her expression correctly. "shut up." Gathering his dignity, he smiled once more, and stroped out of the cell, leaving her alone.

    Looking around, she noted the difference between her and her companion. He had already unpacked, his possessions strewn across various surfaces while she had yet to remove a single item from her pack without immediately replacing it again after use. I wonder what one of those shrinks would have to say about that... Mentally she shook herself. She had long ago promised herself that as much as possible, she wouldn't live in the past.

    Following Will, she trudged out of the slowly brightening cell and rejoined the group, noting the absence of several more members of the group. Questioning Beth about this revealed that walkers were beginning to build up at the outer fence. Without hesitating, Katia ran to her room and snatched up the sidearm she normally had tucked away in her combat boots, as well as strapping her hunting knife to her thigh, and started off toward the outer fences.


End file.
